


I Don't Get Sick

by CassieBeckett



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Comedy, Delusions, Hallucinations, Other, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25637644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieBeckett/pseuds/CassieBeckett
Summary: Zuko, after a failed fishing trip, gets a cold.When Katara leaves the next day to go on a far more successful trip, things get out of hand.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 71





	I Don't Get Sick

**Author's Note:**

> I laughed too much writing this.
> 
> I have a terrible sense of humour, I apologise for what you're about to read. XD

Zuko woke up in a cold sweat. He had the odd sensation that he couldn't breathe. The strangely warm floor seemed to sway beneath him. He slowly emerged from his tent, trying to pat down his hair that he hadn't bothered to brush.

"Morning, Zuko!" A jovial voice said, making Zuko's ears ring. "We were starting to think you'd be asleep all day!"

Zuko glanced up blearily to see Aang beaming, doing pull ups on a nearby branch.

"Ha ha," Zuko muttered. "I hope you've been up since dawn practicing."

Aang leaped down weightlessly. "Sure have! But you promised me you'd teach me how to do fire kicks."

Zuko didn't remember that whatsoever, but nodded anyway. "Okay. Meet me by that meadow so we don't burn down any tents."

After Zuko had had a subtle breakfast (not wanting to draw any more attention to the fact that he'd only just woken up), he started to make his way to the meadow; but was intercepted by Sokka.

"Hey, you're awake!" Sokka said, supressing a laugh. "I could hear you talking in your sleep last night, you sounded so out of it."

"I don't talk in my sleep," Zuko insisted.

In a terrible impression of Zuko, Sokka grumbled, "Must restore... my honour..." He then burst out laughing.

Zuko pushed past him, bright red. He knew for a fact that he'd always talked in his sleep, but he wasn't about to admit that to Sokka. Besides, Sokka was a complete hypocrite; him and Suki had kept Zuko up plenty of times. With... activities.

"Right. Fire kicks," Zuko started. He suddenly was certain he saw two Aangs standing across from him, but shook it off, continuing stubbornly. "First, you have to make sure you're balanced. If you put two much weight onto your weaker leg, you could-" Zuko stopped as he felt the earth tip underneath him. He staggered to the side. "Toph, cut that out!"

"Um... Toph's not doing anything. She's nowhere near here," Aang said. "Are you okay? You're acting... weird."

"I'm fine!" Zuko growled. "I'm just going to show you. You try to copy me. Got it?"

Aang nodded, confused. Zuko leaped upwards, attempting to demonstrate; but when a jet of flame didn't erupt as he had expected, he landed back on the ground with a monumental thud. He groaned.

"Zuko!" Aang cried, running over to him. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" He attempted to jump back up before Aang could reach him and embarrass him further; but his legs refused to cooperate, and he only fell back down.

"No you're not," Aang replied. "You're sick or something, aren't you? I knew you were acting off this morning."

"I don't get sick," Zuko spat. This was an obvious lie, but Aang didn't say a word. He pulled Zuko up as gently as he could; he immediately collapsed against him, nearly unable to walk. "Aang, let go of me, I can walk-"

"So why are you leaning on me so much?" Aang asked with a signature grin.

Zuko wisely shut up and let himself be led back to his tent.

*****

Sokka watched in confusion as Aang led a near-unconscious Zuko back towards his tent. Aang was clearly struggling to bear most of the teenager's dead weight.

"What the flameo happened to him?" Sokka asked, taking one of Zuko's arms over his shoulder. "Did you beat him up in training?"

"I think he's sick or something. He's got a fever."

"I don't get- sick," Zuko repeated sullenly.

"Sure you don't, buddy," Sokka replied.

They carefully helped Zuko into his bed; only Sokka decided to let go of his arm too early, and snorted when Zuko fell over.

"Sokka, be careful with him," Aang chided. "We don't know what's wrong with him yet. It could be dangerous!"

Sokka scoffed. "Aang, he's got a cold. He's just being dramatic, as usual."

Aang glanced over at Zuko, who was somehow already asleep. He lowered his voice, saying, "He's definitely not putting this on, if that's what you're saying. He can't walk!"

"I noticed," Sokka said. "Aang, it's cute that you're worried and everything, but he'll be fine. No need to get so heated up over it."

Aang half-smiled at Sokka's attempt at a pun, leaving the tent with him. As he left, he heard Zuko mumble, "Nuh-uh. Shut up, 'Zula. I could- I could take you."

*****

Zuko emerged yet again from his tent ten minutes later, to Aang's frustration.

"Zuko, go back to bed! You can't train today."

"Watch me," Zuko mumbled.

"Just rest until Katara gets back from fishing- then she can heal you and you can carry on training!"

Aang resisted the urge to facepalm as Zuko ignored him and staggered back towards the meadow. Toph laughed, taking a break from collecting firewood as she felt Zuko's uneven walking. Aang sighed at his attempt to firebend his frustration away (failing to produce any flames whatsoever).

"What's wrong with him?" Toph chortled, ditching her firewood.

"He's sick and too stubborn to admit it, so he keeps attempting to firebend to prove that he's not completely delirious."

"Can he even walk in a straight line?"

"Nope. We need to get him back to his tent, he's a danger to himself."

"If he can't firebend, how dangerous can he be?" Toph asked.

Aang paused. He had to admit, Toph had a point. They couldn't force Zuko to stay in his tent. "I... I don't know, Toph. Shouldn't we at least try to help him?"

"If he doesn't want you to, what can you do?"

"But he needs to rest!"

Toph smiled. He punched Aang in the shoulder before saying, "That's nice and all, but you can't force him to do anything. He's as stubborn as Sokka sometimes."

Sokka, overhearing, yelled, "I'm not stubborn!"

"Shut up, 'Zula," Zuko muttered, talking to no one. He had his hands up as if he were about to punch someone; he swung back, punching an imaginary sister in the face with a left hook. The momentum of the swing and the complete lack of impact left him face first in the dirt. Toph and Sokka simultaneously burst out laughing. Aang winced; but he had to admit, seeing the usually stoic Zuko act so strangely was at least a little entertaining.

"That's it," Aang decided. "Toph, Sokka, please help me with him."

They groaned. Toph, sighing, rolled the ground beneath Zuko's tent. With impressive precision, the entire tent found its way to an unmoving Zuko. An angry yell from inside told them that Zuko had been shoved forcibly into his sleeping bag.

"There. Happy?" Toph asked. "You can stop nagging now, Twinkletoes. You sound like Katara."

Aang tried not to get offended on Katara's behalf. But Toph was right; there wasn't anything he could do to cure Zuko's impressive stubbornness. 

So he let the prince be.

*****

Understandably, Katara was confused to say the least when she returned from fishing. Zuko passed her, staggering, pausing to say, "Hey, Katty! Wanna practice firebending with me?"

"Did Sokka introduce you to some cacti, by any chance?" She shot a glare over at her brother, who had been following Zuko around laughing literally all day.

"He's sick," Sokka explained. "It's hilarious!"

"What?! How is that funny? He should be resting!"

"I don't need rest, Aang, I'm fine! Look!" He held up a hand, attempting to create a small flame; some feeble smoke appeared.

"Right. Yeah, Zuko, you're doing brilliantly," Sokka said. "Katara, we've been attempting to keep him in his tent all day. But as you can see, uh- it didn't work."

"I leave for five minutes..." Katara muttered. She raised her voice, talking slowly. "Zuko, follow me, I'm going to heal you. Got it?"

Zuko blinked a couple times and then laughed. "I'm fine. You sound like your husband."

"My what?"

Sokka ran off to laugh in a corner, aware of her sister's wrath. Aang walked over, smiling apologetically as he started to help Katara with her impressive collection of fish. "Hey, Katara," he said. "Uh, I've tried to get him to rest, I swear."

"I'm not listening to you, you're just a child," Zuko said, snorting. "Remember that, Aangy?"

"Did he just tell a... joke?" Aang asked, in shock.

"Did he just call you 'Aangy'?"

"He's been calling me that all day. It's growing on me, I gotta say."

"This isn't funny- there could be something seriously wrong with him!" Katara sighed. "I expected this from Sokka, but Aang, aren't you at least the semi-sensible one nowadays?"

"Maybe I'm a bad influence," Zuko butted in, another delirious attempt at humour.

Aang stifled a laugh. "Well, at first I was saying the same thing, but then I remembered Zuko spent two hours in the freezing lake yesterday attempting to fish for us. So it's just a cold."

"Hey, Kit- I mean, Kat- Katara," Zuko said, butchering Katara's name beyond recognition. "Aang said you're cuter than- a turtlechicken. I mean, duckturtle."

"Did not!" Aang said quickly.

Katara finally laughed. "Okay. I'll give you ten minutes with drunk Zuko, then I'm healing him. Deal?"

"Deal!" Aang said happily. "Zuko, quick, tell more jokes!"

Sokka (who was definitely not eavesdropping) appeared, deciding his sister no longer posed a threat.

*****

Zuko woke up to Katara bending water on his head. Last thing he remembered, he had been scolded by Aang for not knowing how to do a firekick. He also remembered Aang showing him how to do it, which didn't quite seem to make sense. he had the horrible feeling that he was forgetting something. Sokka, Aang and Toph also stood around him. Why was practically everyone in his tent?!

He decided to focus on the waterbender. "Katara?" he asked groggily. "Aren't you meant to be fishing?"

Katara smiled, as if she knew something he didn't. "I've already been fishing." She looked slightly amused at the confused look on Zuko's face, and asked, "Out of curiousity, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh- Aang told me off for not knowing how to do a firekick," he said slowly. "Then... Then he showed me how to do it?"

Katara fought the urge to burst out laughing. The other three, who didn't own as much self-control, all simultaneously started snorting with laughter. Aang, especially, was struggling to breathe.

"Me?! Teach you firebending?" he choked out in-between laughter.

Zuko assumed from everyone's reaction that that wasn't quite what had happened. He grew even more confused as he saw that it was dark outside. "It's... night!" he blurted out.

Everyone laughed harder.

"What the hell is going on?!"

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first A:TLA fic!
> 
> Please tell me what you think in the comments, constructive criticism is very much appreciated!
> 
> (Kudos are also very much appreciated, but, uh- no pressure or anything.)


End file.
